Vic Mensa honors the late Dolores O'Riordan with cathartic cover of Cranberries' "Zombie"

Yesterday, on the one-year anniversary of the death of Dolores O’Riordan, The Cranberries announced their final album featuring her on vocals. And, as more tributes to the singer rolled in, one in particular stood out. Chicago rapper Vic Mensa took to Twitter with a surprising, cathartic cover of the band’s 1993 single “Zombie,” one that also represents his first release as the rock-oriented 93PUNX.

“93PUNX is a band I created to express things outside of rap,” Mensa said in a statement. “We connected to ‘Zombie’ because we were born from violence. RIP Dolores.” Mensa’s statement speaks to his long history of gun reform advocacy, and it brings to mind the origins of the Cranberries version, which was written about the 1993 IRA bombing in Warrington, England.

Per Billboard, Mensa’s first release as 93PUNX will arrive in the spring. Listen to his cover below.